change management begins with you

A newly-minted CEO has a problem of changing practices within the organization. How do you do ensure the changes stick, what messages to say, what needs to be embedded, who needs to model these changes? As part of the management, these are the steps you can take.


1.       Practice what you preach. You want things to be changed in the organization. It has to be communicated from the top and be modeled from the top. If people see otherwise, it is just lip service.
 
2.       Model the changes in real-time. Don’t put that in a plan, procedure, policy, or manual, only to be left in a 3-ring binder somewhere. Changes in practices should be implemented on a regular, consistent basis, over time, ensuring clear alignment, focus, and synergy by all stakeholders.
 
 
3.       Let the best employee model it! I say that, let their peers start to model those changes that the management seek. Employees learn from each other, and the best/or the most influential get to showcase that changes are their friends, not their enemies.
 
 
4.       What’s in it for me? Do you need to change how people talk to their customers? How the organization plan for the future?  How you do want to implement the services? The management has to showcase that with these changes, the organization will hit its targets, and targets being met means profitability and sustainability in the long run.  A profitable and sustainable organization takes care of its employees and employees reciprocate the gesture.
 
5.       The changes you want to see should manifest in their performance. Everyone’s performance needs to be evaluated by the outcomes you want to see. Without the measurement, who cares whether it gets done or not!  And the CEOs and the management team’s performance needs to get evaluated too. No sacred cows.

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These steps will ensure that changes stick and become the norm, not the aberration.  You can’t change things over time, but you can start replacing old habits with good habits. It is the same with organizational entities.

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